“The new rates are benchmarked against the minimum pension for public sector employees which are currently at RM820 a month.

Read more: EPF to raise members’ basic savings level http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIM...l#ixzz2crdyV62y

I think the new table is set too high, and it is a sudden and tremendous increase from the current table. It will reduce a lot of possible withdrawals.

How could a lump sum withdrawal of RM196,000 at age 55, be compared to a pension of RM820/month? And Account 1 is not the total amount but 70%. Furthermore, the withdrawal amount for UT investment is a portion (20%) of the excess amount above the 'basic savings'.

And these investment withdrawals are not "real" withdrawals, and are still very much part of retirement funds.

I think the current table is good enough, and I rather have larger withdrawals to slowly invest than having a larger lump sum at age 55.

I could only hope that at age 55, it will be a very bad year, economically with stock markets at very low levels... else it is as good as putting the large sum of money under the bed... as it is what is visioned by the wise board of directors as the rm196,000 is arrived at with a simple math of 20 years x rm820/month.

What MakNok tried to do was mitigating the downward slide... and managed to reduce it, and gained 1.66%.

With reference to my previous post on the "25 Ringgit Hotel", just imagine if the 90-days mark was passed and only need to pay a flat RM25 instead of those tens of hundreds in penalty fee 0.75%.

That's an interesting post, much appreciate it as it shows that there's more than one way to skin a cat... end result might still be the same. The cat got hunted down!

Cheers. Happy hunting.

Here's the full list of EPF approved funds in Public Mutual, with number of stars giving by MorningStar.

01 PB ISLAMIC BOND FUND
02 PUBLIC ISLAMIC INCOME FUND
03 PUBLIC ISLAMIC SELECT BOND FUND
04 PUBLIC SELECT BOND FUND

05 PUBLIC ISLAMIC MONEY MARKET FUND
06 PB CASH MANAGEMENT FUND

Benchmark/Category: FBM KLCI
07 PB GROWTH FUND 3-star
08 PUBLIC AGGRESSIVE GROWTH FUND 2-star
09 * PUBLIC SAVINGS FUND 3-star
10 PUBLIC GROWTH FUND 3-star
11 PUBLIC SELECT ALPHA-30 FUND 2-star
12 PUBLIC EQUITY FUND 3-star

Benchmark/Category: FBM Emas Shariah
13 PUBLIC ITTIKAL FUND 3-star
14 * PUBLIC ISLAMIC SELECT ENTERPRISES FUND 5-star
15 * PUBLIC ISLAMIC EQUITY FUND 4-star
16 PUBLIC ISLAMIC SECTOR SELECT FUND 4-star
17 PUBLIC ISLAMIC OPTIMAL GROWTH FUND 3-star
18 PB ISLAMIC EQUITY FUND 3-star

Benchmark/Category: FBM Emas Shariah 90%, 3M IIMMR 10%
19 * PUBLIC ISLAMIC DIVIDEND FUND 4-star

Benchmark/Category: FBM Top100
20 PUBLIC INDEX FUND 3-star
21 * PUBLIC REGULAR SAVINGS FUND 4-star
22 PUBLIC SECTOR SELECT FUND 3-star


Benchmark/Category: FBM Top100 90%, KLBOR 10%
23 * PUBLIC DIVIDEND SELECT FUND 4-star

Benchmark/Category: FBM Mid70
24 PUBLIC FOCUS SELECT FUND 4-star

Benchmark/Category: FBM Small Cap Shariah
25 PUBLIC ISLAMIC SELECT TREASURES FUND 4-star

* Fund Volality Class = moderate

With 4 months left before a new 'basic savings' table is implemented, that's 2 more possible withdrawals.

Cheers. Happy hunting!

2nd week into the slide since 14-Aug... my ASEAN funds purchased in March, now diving below -8%, after breaking even on 14-Aug.

Too late to get out now... markets taking another deeper dive today... Indo 3%, Sin 1.7%, BKK 1.7%, KL nearly 1%.

Selling opportunity has come and gone. Buying opportunity begins...

Cheers, happy hunting.

PS. Fired some shots 3 days in a row... as usual, the random shots hit target, but target still moving.

correction: that should be minus 8%. other percentages are negatives too.

=================
update:
JKSE -3.7% , now below 4000... on its way to 3800?
STI -1.6%
SET -2.6%
KLCI -1.2%, 1701 nearly breaking through the 1700 floor (which it briefly did after lunch).

=================
Another major dip next month? Got to save some resources to throw into the ring...


This post has been edited by j.passing.by: Aug 27 2013, 05:36 PM

1000 units, if not mistaken, as that is the minimal units needed in a switch.

If you are just starting new, better to think long term (more than 2 or 3 years) and plan only on "buy, buy, buy". Then you don't have to worry about market timing and switching.

Because if you think and feel there is a need to 'switch' out of the purchased, then you have over-bought and had bought too much at any one time.

Cheers.

I see the similarity in both of you; veterans in UT and yet with noob questions. Take no offense, please... just some kidding.

What do you guys want to do? Only you yourselves would know better.

SmallCap, Dividend Select, and Focus Select... they are all local funds, and local funds are the strength of Public Mutual.

It is good that you have already have them for a couple of years, and the entrance cost (service charge) already been paid back by the recent gains. So maybe keep them till you really, really need the money; redeem them then.

In the meantime, continue investing if you want to. Keeping to what was workable for you so far - local & moderate funds.

If the fund is closed and cannot re-invest or cannot add more to it, then do the next best thing, try a similar local fund. Check the full EPF list posted today, and maybe try a fund in a different category for a bit of diversity.

Cheers. All the best of luck in your horse selection!

=============

PS. If having a new fund which needs an initial RM1000 is too much, then yes, doing a switch from an old fund first and then do 'top-up' with minimal RM100 is a viable option. Only thing to consider is whether it is worthwhile to pay the extra RM25 switching fee.

I have just checked within PMO. Those funds which I switched fully switched out, and with zero balances are still open for selection in "Additional Investment". I can still top it up with minimal RM100... this of course can't be done with a closed fund like SmallCap...

Of course I did not go through all the steps till the 'transfer of funds from savings account', but it should be possible. Don't confuse switching of units with "Initial Investment" and "Additional Investment" which are in ringgit amounts.

The PMO system do not delete the account numbers with zero balance. Once an account number is allotted to an investor's fund, it remains there even the balance is zero. I have switched in and out of countless funds, and all those accounts with zero balance are still there.

For example, if you look at MakNok's list, he have FULLY switched in and out of a money market fund. The system do not make a new account number each time he switched in, but kept and uses back the old number.

Cheers.

"2nd week into the slide since 14-Aug... my ASEAN funds purchased in March, now diving below -8%, after breaking even on 14-Aug.

Too late to get out now..."

It is never too late! Yup, have changed my mind after reviewing the whole portfolio today.

Made some switches on those funds which are more than 90 days. Stay safe in the RM25 hotel... while waiting for fresh leads on what to do next.

It was blood on the streets during lunch, all markets at negative one and below; and Manila was at -5% (was -4% yesterday). Thank goodness, the losses were trimmed by closing time. Indo made a remarkable turnaround and was up 1.4%. Manila managed to trim the fall to -3%.

Yeah, the reaction to switch out was late for a couple of the switches. 2 other just passed the 90-days mark. Had to abide by own policy of holding-more-than-90-days rule... self discipline and training. LOL.

Otherwise, will be trading in and out like no tomorrow; which went a bit out of control last year.

Cheers. No hunting for the time being! Staying put till mid-September.

Ever wonder how to play and win in UT? Read on...

Actually, most of the time, we are winning, but do not realise it. The moment you invest into UT, you are already a winner. The losing feeling comes when we see that the stock market is down or going down. It is only a feeling... so brush it aside.

(Wah, this is already like a sales pitch! But I’m not selling anything here. You are here and reading this
because you had already bought the sales pitch!)

So we are all winners here, but how to measure the winnings? Forget about IRR, cash flow or whatever fancy stuff you see in this forum. Only simple calculation is advocated here. Year-to-Date and simple annualise stuff would do.

Year-to-Date is exactly what it is. It is the difference between the total value of all your funds as of today and total value of all your funds as on 31-Dec-2012.

Anything you purchased this year, do not add to the total. The new purchases are new savings, put them aside separately. Only add them to the total value at the end of the year.

But what about the service charges, you would ask. “Add them at the end of the year too?”

Well, since you have already bought and paid the service charges, you were already a loser before you knew it! But we are all winners here. So to be a winner, and not a loser, just add as much of the charges as you like (or none at all); enough to come out more as a winner than a loser.

(In other words, average out the charges and add them bit by bit each year.)

As winners, we only have winning moves. If we sell or switch out, it is not ‘cut lost’. It is a defensive move to protect our YTD gains.
If the YTD is negative, we are in a defensive position. Then it is time to be offensive when the opportunity comes.

But as we are winners, we don’t allow the YTD to be negative in the first place. If the YTD is negative in the first place, it is all the fault of the sales pitch from the sales agents or consultants. They had sold us too much equity when the market is high and going down. Making us start as losers instead of winners.

Never mind... next year, the YTD will cut out all the memories of past loses (and winnings), and will let us start afresh as winners.

Cheers. Have a great Merdeka weekend.

PS. Please read my previous posts in this thread... if you have time... will only take an hour or so!

This post has been edited by j.passing.by: Aug 31 2013, 09:16 PM

okay, another horse report for the weekend....

Month of August was bad weather for many horses, needless to say. Local and asean region horses all running backwards... thank goodness the pace picked up again this week, with almost all horses running well and steady. Except for Indo and SEA ponies.

Indo went from +20 to -16. Still running backwards this week, around -6%. In 4 days! Punters who bet on this horse in the last 2-3 months... koyak! More than 30% lost!

SEA is half as bad... losing about 10% if the bet was recent.

Winners this week are the Chinese ponies. Gaining as much as 3%.

Local horses almost sleeping, not much grounds gained. But not losing grounds either... so it's sort of good news.

How will the rest of Sept fare? Not easy to predict, as volatility is still in the market... buy on rumours, sell on news. But one thing for sure, money can flow out in an instance, will take time to trickle in.

============

Just inputted new nav prices to the "Ultimate" portfolio (copycat version)... still holding steady at 5.36% YTD. Previously at 30th June, it was 5.99%. Diversity works! Diversity is the way to go! Don't bet all on one horse!

Cheers. Invest for the next 3 years, not the next 3 days!

============

Last chance to withdraw from EPF to buy bond/money market funds this month, before the 1% service charge in Oct. Please note, I said EPF... not cash money... and you know why.

Buy this month, and pay only 2.75% when switch to equity. Yeah, still the same total 3%... only difference is there is 0.75% more of the principal to accrue interests on the bonds/money market funds. Chicken feed anyway...

But if you can withdraw this month, you can withdraw again in Dec. Before the new EPF 'basic savings' table is implemented... which average 50% increase across the ages... no more withdrawals for many people next year. Sad... but positive thinking will spur many to work harder, smarter, more effectively when they realised that they have just enough money inside EPF to clear the 'basic savings' table.

But only if people know that the basic savings table is a good measurement of wealth... or rather wealthy enough to retire or not. Or work till 70... 75, or till deathbed.

=============

BTW how much money to have to be considered 'rich and wealthy''? 2 or 3 decades ago, this 'drop dead' money was 2 million.

"Drop dead money" as in having enough money to tell your boss to drop dead. Or tell boss go fly kite.
This amount don't have to be a million or two, most do it for a just a few hundreds to jump to another company.

No, this 'drop dead money' is serious money... should be adequate enough to go first class everywhere with a don't bother, no care, drop dead attitude to anyone you meet. 2 million does not cut it anymore.

The 'drop dead money' is 5 million.

PS. Buy 4D jackpot this weekend... 20 million.

No ticket, no chance of winning. No matter how small, how tiny, how minute is the chances of striking it big... it is still a chance, but only if you have a ticket. No ticket, zero chance. Born lucky also no use if got no ticket.

Hi,

Any agent can tell me more on the free whole-life insurance that comes with a certain fund. I heard about the free incidental insurance coverage before, this is something new to me. Please tell more, like how much coverage for each rm1 invested.

One is sukuk and the other is a balance fund. Both PB series.

If there is any Public series new funds being launched, better watch out... harbinger of doom!

When market is hot and ongoing, the marketing department would go into overdrive to drum in more sales... easy pickings in sight when every Tom, d*** and Harry want to jump into the stock market bandwagon.

".... be fearful when everyone is greedy."

New Public funds = A harbinger and first indication of impending market crash.

==============

stupid system censored a common guy's name.
System is dirty minded, same as its programmer.

This post has been edited by j.passing.by: Sep 11 2013, 05:56 PM

TQ.

Introduction

This insurance is specially designed to cover Public Mutual unit holders who maintain a minimum investment of RM5, 000 Net Asset Value (NAV) and above in Public Ittikal Sequel Fund (PITSEQ), subject to a maximum amount of RM100, 000 per unit holder.

The amount of Takaful coverage is equal to the NAV of units held in the ratio of RM1 Takaful coverage for every RM1 NAV of units held. As the NAV fluctuates, the coverage will also fluctuate accordingly.

Unit holders who qualify will be given group term life and group personal accident coverage.

Eligibility

Unit holders aged between18-59 are eligible for this free insurance coverage. The coverage will cease once the insured reaches age 60. For joint accounts, only the principal (first-named in the account) unit holder is eligible.
Group Term Life (with Total & Permanent Disability) - GTL Coverage

1. This is a term life insurance that covers death & total permanent disablement due to natural and accidental causes 24 hours a day worldwide.

2. Total Permanent Disability (TPD) shall mean the complete inability of an insured to engage in any gainful occupation or employment for compensation, profit or gain for the remainder of his lifetime as a result of accident injury, sickness or disease.


The Group Term Life up to age 60 sounds interesting... What if we switched in and out of the fund? Still got coverage on the days we holding fund, OR only good if we switched in and stay in, as re-entry will void the insurance?

So, it is about RM1 (due to fluctuating NAV) coverage for each RM1 invested.

kim hong ahh... what's going on here, PM going from bad to worse in service... how?

Why nobody call our friend and explain in full what went wrong? Company staff waiting for agent to call, agent waiting for staff to inform... is it?

And in the meantime, if investor did not check, all waiting for pigs to fly.

Ah Kim,

Good job. You have made these UTC/agents run around here and there without them realizing it!

The suitability assessment form introduced this year... well done. Company gets the awards, agents get the blame...

In the meantime, the little newbie investor get frustrated and learn the truth.

don't be lazy lah... read some of my previous posts, especially the one on being 'winners' and YTD. You already loose money the moment you bought in, whether DCA or not. (After paying the service charge.)

It is very likely you are getting some returns if you really did DCA regularly for the past 1 or 2 years; as market trend was up. That is, if you do not add in the service charges.

Lump sum investment for a short term: if you want to take the risk and want to gamble a bit for extraordinary returns, YES! But not here, the entry cost is too high. Look elsewhere where the service charges is 1 or 2 percent.

What you can do is:
1) lock in some profits the next several days as the market is starting to rebound, by switching to a money market fund.

2) stay invested and don't have to redeem all if you don't need all of the money.

Back to School.

Some of the recent newbie posts got me thinking about DCA and DDI. (Dollar Cost Average and Direct Debit Instruction.) What are they? Any difference between them?

DCA is a good investment tactic. You can google and read all about it in the investopedia site. Here's the link. http://www.investopedia.com/articles/stocks/07/dcavsva.asp

DCA is a proven tactic. Lump sum investment is only good if 'timing the market' is done right. But what went wrong, or rather why the wrong perception that it is not a good investment tactic?

First, maybe it was not done correctly.

An initial investment is a minimum of $1000. Subsequent monthly re-investments or DDI could be as low as $100. Can it be said DCA was applied in this case? Remember what the 3rd letter stands for? "A" stands for "AVERAGE". So clearly in this case, it will take a longer time to "average" out the initial investment.

A true DCA should work equally well whether the market is going up or down.

In the pseudo DCA with a much larger initial investment, the raw perception of it would be that it is better in a uptrend than in a downtrend; while in reality it is better in a downtrend. (Please pause here, and you should see it is usually better to buy in a downtrend...)

Secondly, it is too soon to tell whether the tactic really works within a year. Especially if using the pseudo DCA with a much larger initial investment. DCA investing is laying down the ground work, it will take some time for the seeds sown to grow and bear fruits.

Thirdly, maybe the maths on the ROI (Return of Investment) was wrong.

The market index went up 5%, so the fund underperformed with ROI of 2.5%? Time to switch to a better fund?

But what if I tell you I calculated the ROI inclusive of the service charge? And furthermore, what if I started the fund less than 8 months ago? And on top of that, it was a lump sum into a money market fund before I "DCA" it to the equity fund 4 months ago. The ROI of 2.5% is not good (as it is lesser than FD) and should switch into another "better" fund?

Cheers. Happy hunting!

P.S. Actually, most of us are doing some sort of VCA (Value Cost Averaging or Value Averaging) without knowing it!


This post has been edited by j.passing.by: Sep 19 2013, 08:57 PM

hehe, that's right! In a way you will made 0.75% by buying now then next week. LOL.

But in the 1st place, is it worth to have any bond funds? Putting you money in FD can give you better returns. And this is not bs general statement. Just go through last year data and this year YTD gains for all those bonds/fixed income funds that are OPEN to new investments... and you can verify it yourself.

Ok, the best bond fund was PB Islamic Bond. It is PB series. All those available in "Public" were less than 4% in 2012. And this year, with the recent downtrend... even worse.

And the real ROI after minus the 0.25% service charge... and now going to be 1%?!!! Who in his right mind is going to hold bond/fixed income funds?

Unless you are holding it before switching it into an equity fund, it is a losing situation you are getting yourself into.

(PS. Bank Rakyat 1-yr FD 4.01%. If it is 20k and above, monthly interest into savings account.)

(PPS. And who in his right mind would pump in money out of wallet using the bond-to-equity tactic? 1st round lose, then another losing bout getting into equity. Already TKO before the match really begins.)

The table is a scam job!

$100 per month for 30 years @ 10% compounded monthly = $227.933 (or $227,932.53 to be exact.)
The 10% annual rate was simply divided by 12 months, to get the monthly compounded rate of 0.83333%.

The correct monthly compounded rate is 0.7974% if the annual rate is 10%.
Using this correct monthly compounded rate, it would only give $207,929.27.

And let's be realistic and put in $95 instead of $100 monthly... yeah, I know the service charge is 5.5%; but I'm giving you 0.5% discount since you're special client, okay?

The final total in 360 months (30 years) is then $197,532.81.

To get 500k, you'll need to increase it to about $254 per month.

Then keep fingers crossed for 360 months that the fund returns 10% monthly compounded each and every month without fail.

I using MS Excel... the closest math explanation is in this link http://superuser.com/questions/352981/exce...aily-and-weekly.

But the excel should be =(POWER((1+A1),(1/B1))-1)*100%, to convert it to percentage.
Where:
A1 is your annual rate
B1 is the number of interest periods.

==================

And to verify it, use a table as follows... with simple formulas, then drag it down to 360.


0 95.00 0.00000% -
1 95.00 0.79741% 95.76
2 190.76 0.79741% 192.28
3 287.28 0.79741% 289.57
:
:
359 194,325.54 0.79741% 195,875.11
360 195,970.11 0.79741% 197,532.81